Former Maynooth president to head Diocese of Ossory

Meath priest and former Maynooth President Msgr Dermot Farrell has been appointed Bishop of Ossory, succeeding Bishop Emeritus Seamus Freeman SAC who retired in July 2016.

Born in Westmeath in 1954, Msgr Farrell studied at St Finian’s College, Mullingar, before earning a BSc degree and beginning his studies for the priesthood in Maynooth, being ordained in 1980. After several years as a curate in the cathedral parish of Mullingar, he began doctoral studies in Rome’s Gregorian University, serving from 1987 as Director of Formation in the Irish College.

Returning to Ireland, the then Fr Farrell served as a curate in Tullamore Parish while lecturing in moral theology at Maynooth, being appointed executive assistant to the college president, and then Vice-President of the college before becoming president of the college in 1996. In 2007, Msgr Farrell returned to his home diocese as Parish Priest of Dunboyne & Kilbride, also becoming Vicar General of the Diocese of Meath in 2009.

Speaking this morning in the Cathedral of St Mary, Kilkenny, Msgr Farrell said he received “with enormous surprise” Pope Francis’ invitation to become Bishop of Ossory, saying “I am humbled by this call from the Church”. With half of his time as a priest having been in parish ministry, he says he had originally become a priest “to work with people, in their service, in the service of the Lord, and of his gospel, of Christ’s good news about God, about us, and about our world”.

Meath’s Bishop Michael Smith has greeted the appointment, saying that since his ordination Msgr Farrell had served the diocese with “exemplary dedication, pastoral zeal and an immense capacity for work”, praising especially his work as parish priest since 2007, in which role, he said, “Monsignor Farrell initiated new pastoral programmes and renewed the parish churches and schools in one of the largest and most rapidly developing parishes in the Diocese of Meath”.

Msgr Farrell’s “comprehensive pastoral and administrative experience has prepared him well for episcopal ministry”, Bishop Smith added, noting especially how in Maynooth he had “displayed competence and balanced judgment at a time when many challenging decisions had to be made”.

The Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, has also welcomed the appointment, saying he had “already shown great commitment to his priestly calling in a variety of pastoral settings”, praising the gifts and skills that will serve the people and priests of his new diocese.

“His theological expertise as well as his wide experience of administration, pastoral ministry and seminary formation will also benefit our discussions at the episcopal conference as we consider how to best serve the present and future needs of the Church in Ireland,” he added.

Insisting that he will have much to learn in the years ahead, Msgr Farrell said that like most major decisions being called to be a bishop is a step into the unknown. “If we are honest, to be called to be a bishop in the Ireland of today is even more a step into the unknown,” he said. “It is also a call to trust in the Lord, and in the providence of God.  I am glad to accept the call to serve here in Ossory, to be a pastor in this place, and in this community of faith.”